Following Animal Kingdom back in December and Magic Kingdom on January 14th, Epcot and Hollywood Studios will no longer distribute legacy paper FASTPASSes beginning next week. Hollywood Studios will go FastPass+ only on January 21st, followed by Epcot on January 23rd. Guests staying on-site and those with theme park tickets and MagicBands will be able to book their FastPass+ experiences up to 60 days in advance using the My Disney Experience app or DisneyWorld.com. Guests staying off-site and those without MagicBands will continue scheduling their FastPass+ experiences on the day of inside the theme park.
The end of an era. Even though development has been in effect for quite a while, it seems that the actual implementation of this has flown by, for better or worse. I am picturing someone who was perhaps at WDW for the first time in September and doesn’t follow DIS news/websites, then making a spontaneous daytrip back in Feb. and thinking “What the heck happened?”
More importantly, I wonder if the legacy machines will ever show up on eBay. Could come in handy scheduling morning bathroom time when my kids are teenagers…
It will be a positive that we will only have one system in place going forward. It will allow everyone to begin to get a better idea how things will ultimately play out. We all can stop specualting and start basing things on actual experiences.
we leave tomorrow for a week. we’ve been actively watching wait times and checking recommended parks carefully. i plan a nice detailed trip report once we return; i’ll try to show what we “do” with FP+ fully in place and how the waits “feel”.
It will be interesting to see how the standby wait times work out at these parks with the tiering in effect. It will also be interesting to see how many “day of” FP+ will be available for TSM, Soarin, TT and R&RC (e.g., for off-site guests who can’t book in advance). I would assume that crowd levels would significantly affect this.
It will also be somewhat interesting to observe standby wait time variation between relatively more and less crowded days, especially on attractions that are Tier 1 in name only, like Maelstrom. On a more crowded day, when “day of” FP+ are likely to be extremely limited, you’d expect that a much higher percentage of guests will end up using their Tier 1 selection for this attraction (because TT and Soarin FP+ are gone). On a less crowded day, if there are still plenty of day of slots for TT and Soarin, we may see far fewer people choose to use their Tier 1 FP+ on Maelstrom, which would presumably speed up its standby line.
I know this is probably a dumb q but i didnt understand how it will work.
I always stay offsite and i purchase my tickers in advance from undercovertourist.
Can i list those ticket on My Disney Experience and schedule the fastpass + in advance or I am doomed to day of the arrival
I’ll be at DHS on 1/21 and Epcot on 1/23. I am an onsite guest and already have FP+ booked. Should be interesting…
I’ll be in town next week for work and plan to do Epcot Monday (I know, crazy busy day, but only day I am free). With your (awesome!) advice I did a day at MK in December and pulled legacy FPs with my Annual Pass and an old KTTW card. Hoping to try that at Epcot for one last time Monday. After legacy FP is gone, how will someone with an AP book the FP+ (if I haven’t stayed on-site yet)? Will I be able to do so when I get in the park?
Thanks for all of your awesome advice!
Oh, how exiting! I am glad we went last year and we loved legacy fast pass, however I can’t wait to try the new fastpass+ system next
@Yaron – Guests staying off-site and those without MagicBands will continue scheduling their FastPass+ experiences on the day of inside the theme park. So no advance scheduling for offsite guests.
Slightly disappointed but not surprised. We went down last Saturday night and arrived at DHS at 8am with the goal to ride TSMM as many times as possible. I was actually the first person through the turnstiles, and we rode twice first thing with two FPs for slightly later and a FP+. Ended up getting 3 more FPs for the end of the night, but on our 6th ride, we were at the very end when it broke down and we were all escorted off. With less than an hour to go before close, we decided 6 rides was a decent amount and we gave legacy FP an appropriate goodbye.
As an annual pass holder if I stay on site once and recieve a magic band how does future fastpass+ scheduling work. can you schedule fastpass+ for any future visit?
I don’t care how anybody spins the FP+ “success”, only allowing 3 per day at one park
SUCKS!
@Max
If your AP and Magicband are linked on My Disney Experience you can currently schedule FP+ up to 60 days out. So you can schedule today for next weekend if you’d like.
@John
Speculation is that 3 FP+ a day is still a test. They could very well add more along with the option to park hop. I don’t think Disney forgot about that, just still something that needs to be “tested” shall we say. Plenty of people rope drop and stay til close and I’m sure Disney knows that so I wouldn’t expect 3 a day to be the end all be all. That will change as the system evolves.
@andrew
Is there a limit on the number of days you can have Fastpass+ reservations with an annual pass?
@max
no, you can schedule FPs everyday if you’d like. but if the system is abused like that(like the ADR system was) they will probably do something to limit you (like the fact that ADRs now require credit cards for most reservations). The system will be abused, so it’s only a matter of time. A little bird mentioned that APs are already booking 1 night stays just to get magicbands now.
It is nice to plan your FP+ 60 days out. Then have WDW change there pack hours two weeks out.
@andrew
It seemed there was a perverse ‘logic’ to the abuses in the ADR system: guests would book ADR at multiple locations and then later plan their itineraries or tour the parks in a spontaneous way. The multiple-simultaneous ADRs gave multiple last-minute choices depending on their last minute whims. And that world of potential abusers was basically anyone in WDW.
The only logical abusers of FP+ booking are local, Florida AP holders. People with fixed-length tickets won’t want to blow their FP+s by booking them and not using them. And it’s hard to anyone AP holders outside of the central Florida area would waste their time.
Not being a Florida local, I can’t say what the potential abuses are here, but I suspect this system is less likely to be abused than ADRs were since the universe of potential abusers is much smaller.
As frequent travelers to wdw, we questioned the usefulness of fastpass+. In May of 2013, we did the usual paper passes. Then in November we were part of the massive “test” of the fastpass+ and I begrudgingly booked our passes online a month ahead. Well, it worked pretty well. Out of 11 day trip, we used all 3 passes per day on 5 days. Other days the passes went unused or only one was used.
My verdict is that the system works well if you plan ahead really well. As a frequent wdw fan, its not a big deal if we miss a Test Track ride here or a Space Mountain there. But i could presume that getting to all the fast pass appointments would be potentially stressful. for less frequent travelers who feel the pressure to get on every ride.
A good thing is that you can do same day changes in appointments for fastpass+.
@max There is a limit for AP holders, I believe it’s 14 days. After that you have to use up your first day of FP+ before the system will allow you to book more. There are multiple threads on the forums – search for “limit reached” and you will get a ton of info
I cannot begin to tell you how gutted I am that I as an offsite guest from the UK I will not be able to make fastpass plus reservations in advance. I have been going to Disney every other year for the past 15 years with a large family we stay in a villa off site as staying on Disney property is completely out of our budget. This revelation has me thinking we will forever more be doomed to 90min plus waits in line for the favourite “must do’s”.
It may be time to accept the days of Disney magic are over for us – perhaps we’ll see what the magic is like in Potterland instead this year?! :((
@Klem
This is still a test I’m sure you’ll have your opportunity to book advanced fast-passes
We stayed off site Wednesday night and went to MK as offsite guests Thursday. We got there right away and scheduled our fastpass+ attractions with no wait. The only thing i didn’t find was an Enchanted Tales for the time period we needed, but we got Thunder Mtn, Haunted Mansion, and Under the Sea for 11-12, 12-1 and 1-2. Enchanted tales was only available after 5:30. I did see the fantasyland FP+ station quite crowded today in the early afternoon, but the park was crazy busy anyway.
So if you are off-site…how does it know your at the park and how do you schedule your time? You have to do it a machine inside the park? is that correct…
@KLem: But you couldn’t make reservations for regular fastpasses either. So, its no different than the last 15 years. And you can’t make reservations at other theme parks either – in fact you have to pay extra to get the rough equivalent of “fastpasses” at these.
@Billy: Yes, if you are an offsite guest you can only book your FP+ slots at the kiosks inside the park. Offsite guests cannot use the app or website on their smartphone/tablet/laptop to book FP+s. Not currently, anyway.
Most offsite guests who have tried this out (at AK and now MK) seem to think it works reasonably well, other than the limit of just 3 FP+s per day. So I’m cautiously optimistic.
Wonder how this will affect morning crowds. I like getting to parks right when they open, some people pull the “I like to sleep in” card and that’s fine, but I’m an early riser which gets me there as soon as they open. I am rewarded with short wait times on the first ride I hop on, that early fast pass to whatever ride I get on, and perhaps by the time you and your late rising family gets moving I’ll probably be able to grab my second fast pass.
Now the only reward is I’ll get on that first ride, no fast passes, nothing else.
I keep reading this ‘doomed to wait in long lines’ from people. We were just at Disney this past December, used FP+ and didn’t wait in any long lines. We did what we always did. We showed up early in the morning, rode the popular rides first, and saved the less popular rides (and our FP+ selections) for when it gets busy in the afternoon. Having some idea of what the lines “should” be at certain times of the day is great – if I see Spaceship Earth backed up in the afternoon, then I’ll just come back later when I know it’ll be a walk-on.
Nobody has to choose between being “doomed” to wait in long lines or canceling their vacations. You just have to do a little research and planning (which is what this site is all about). Even if you’re staying off site, you can still hit a couple rides at rope drop, then head on over to a kiosk to pick your three afternoon rides at your convenience.
@Meg thank you for the cheerful outlook. I will be doing what you recommend.
http://www.mouseplanet.com/10591/Managing_FastPass_Guidance_for_NonResort_Guests
Pretty good evaluation and tips at above link
Yes thanks all for encouraging the positive spin on fastpass plus – I guess as I am a planner who does get there for rope drop (as we have to go in school holidays) with the old system I had as much chance as anyone else of getting a fastpass for TSMM then working my plan for the rest of the day around this for example. With this new system as is for offsite guests I have less chance?? Or have I totally misunderstood??!
@KLem, it’s impossible to say at this point. At the moment, people are not having problems getting ‘day of’ FP+ first thing in the morning. Later in the day, the available times do seem to get more limited. But considering that not all onsite guests will pick their FP+ ahead of time (or even understand what it is), and considering that people will be choosing times scattered throughout the day, it seems likely there’ll be FP+ left for you when you get there.
Me, I’d probably ride TSM right away at 8:45 am (or whenever they let guests through the gates), and then afterward head over to a kiosk to pick our FP+ for the day (definitely choosing another TSM!).
@Meg, Thank you I’m feeling less “doomed” now 🙂
Seems to me that when enough park guests are using FP+, the standby lines won’t be as long. I don’t know when that balance might occur, but maybe that’s what Disney has in mind?
@ Steve regarding your answer to Klem on “other parks”:
No you cannot make reservations at Universal for ride times BUT their express passes allow you to skip the line on almost every ride, with the exception of FJ, Ollivanders, and PF. That means you can tour at your leisure hitting the attractions you want, whenever you want. Way less planning and stress. Not the same thing at all. Although, granted you do have to pay for them or stay at a Universal on site hotel.
@teacherkim: Yeah, you’re right about Universal. And you’re right that Disney’s and Universal’s way of providing a fastpass/express pass experience are very different in a number of ways.
I was answering Klem’s concern about offsite guests not being able to make reservations in advance as if this used to be something offsite guests used to be able to do or could do elsewhere. Which they couldn’t/can’t. Just like before, offsite guests at Disney will turn up and choose on the day. 🙂
Looking forward to seeing how this FP+ works when we visit in August. We always go for 2 weeks, so there’s no way we could afford to stay on property. We rent a house offsite and usually get Annual Passes. Since AP holders can’t make reservations, I’m hoping we don’t get screwed on “same day” Fast Passes. If we do, this may be our last trip to Disney in a long, long time. I love visiting the parks, and we do it alot, but they overcrowd the parks enough as is in the summer, but if I can’t even ride one of the classics without a 2 hour wait, I’ll pass and find some other place to drop $10,000 a year with the family.
Chances are by summer things will have changed. No need to panic yet.
@Steve-I get your point! I know I have suddenly become a Universal cheerleader on here and admit that a lot of times I am checking for Universal updated from Josh. I was just so blown away by the free fast pass perk for on site Universal and how nice it was not to have to have the “plan” for each park, ride order, yada, yada, yada…………I mean even if we buy fast passes at the Six Flags near us its only a limited number of rides and you still have to reserve them for a time. Just love the way Universal handles it. And their big new value hotel will apparently not offer the fastpasses but will allow the early Harry Potter entry so we will see how that is affected.
I am headed to WDW in April for our annual spring break trip. I am excited about FP+. With the old system you had to pull your fast pass for the time being distributed when you pulled it. This was often frustrating because the time would conflict with a dining reservation or it would be much later and we like to leave the parks for afternoons at the pool. I think the new system will benefit us. We will get there at Rope Drop…ride away at whatever we want for an hour or so and then we will have FP+ reservations for when the park starts to get busy or right after an early lunch. Heck, we may even venture into a park in the evening which we generally never do over spring break due to crowds. But if we knew that despite the crowds we would have at least three scheduled rides…we may brave it.
I do hope they increase the number to 4 or 5 especially at MK and I would like to see guests with hoppers be able to schedule at two parks in one day.
Another fun thing with the new system is that with good planning you should be able to schedule the same time as friends who are not on your reservation. I am hoping we will be able to meet up with other families for some rides and experiences without needing to tour together all day.
I am aso looking forward to not being the runner for passes and to not crisscrossing the parks to get passes.
We really had good luck with FP+, it worked well and it was easy to maneuver in the parks. I will agree with other posters here that I would like to see the option to schedule FP in different parks with a park hopper. We are AP holders, so we would only schedule FP during busy afternoon hours, but it would have to be for whatever park we hopped over to. I liked having our FPs in advance – the planner in me enjoyed knowing where we would be when. It was also easy to move FPs around and change the experiences with the MDE app.
@Steve, although you couldn’t reserve passes on the old FP system, the reason there is concern for offsite guests now is that NO ONE could reserve before. On property guests had no FP advantages, it was simply first come, first served and the FP opportunities ran out in that order. Now that resort guests can book ahead, it is possible that headlining rides will be completely gone during peak times of the year before off property guests arrive and finally have a shot. It hasn’t yet become a problem, but that is only because so few people are aware of the new system or how to use it. That will quickly change. Let us hope the system changes before that time arrives. I stay both on and off site, and knew the old system well enough that I could get somewhere around 15 FPs per day.
Hey josh, just returned from a quick wknd at all star sports, was our first foray into magic band territory.
Overall I do like the idea, but the wknd was just full of glitches. Our original room assignment already had a family in it, so we apologized and left, and trekked back to the front desk. We were given a new preferred room and a 60$ resort credit. But then the magic bands wouldn’t work with our new room, locking us all out after dinner. Two hours later we were back In our (now comped) free hotel room. The next morning at crystal palace character Bfast our new bands (third set now) were no longer linked to our Bfast reservations or charging abilities ( couldn’t use that handy 60$ credit) ! Good that i had the screen shot of our res on my phone. But our morning fast pass + res weren’t linked anymore either. Luckily every cast member was accommodating and we rode what we wanted – we even got little yellow handwritten paper fast pass tickets ( the irony) which were nice.
So overall after the free hotel stay and free character Bfast and special yellow fast pass tickets our weekend was pretty darn good, but it was awfully frustrating at times and sure must have cost disney a bundle.